The present invention relates to bale handling devices and more particularly to a bale retrieving and transporting apparatus.
Recently, the trend in the agricultural industry has been towards larger and more complex operations. These operations are considerably more economical and advantageous to both farmers and consumers. One recent development in the agricultural industry has been the increased use of large bales of forage material. These bales are generally five to eight feet in diameter and weight approximately 1,000 to 3,000 pounds. These bales have added new dimensions to farming in that, due to their size and compactness, they have a tendency to shed water so as to be able to remain in the field for long periods of time. However, many farmers wish to transport these bales to a sheltered area thereby leaving only such bales in the field as will be necessary to feed his livestock. Due to the size and nature of these bales they are not suitable to presently available bale retrieving and transporting devices.
Several manufacturers have recognized this need to transport large bales of forage material. One of these manufacturers, Starline Inc., has been assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,208, issued to Gay, which is directed to such a retrieving and transporting device. This device is adapted to retrieve, transport and unroll large round bales of forage material. However, removing bales positioned on this device has been difficult. This difficulty arises due to the fact that the bales, once positioned on the lower supporting structure, i.e. tines 15 FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,208, will flatten out due to the weight of the bale, thereby creating a flat bottom which will not easily move off of the lower supports. Movement of the bale off of the apparatus disclosed in the Starline patent is accomplished by simply tilting the forward ends of the lower support structure, e.g. tines 15, and having the bale roll or slide off of the structure. However, after the bottom of the bale has been compressed the tendency of the bale to move greatly decreases.
The present invention is directed to this very problem and, therefore, incorporates in its combination a means mounted on the apparatus for discharging the bale where and when desired.